Kids Activity: Photo Scavenger Hunt

One of Shayla's favorite activities are scavenger hunts - whether on a walk, camping, around the house, etc. She also loves taking photos with my little digital camera, so I knew she would love this activity - a kids photo scavenger hunt aka first photo assignment. She loved it and off she went - here are her photos of some of the things she took pictures of from the list (something square - a book, something bumpy - her leapster case, something soft - Tyson's fur, etc) . It was fun to see how creative she got too. She also loves to check things off so I would put the list on a clipboard with a crayon or pen so she can check them off as she goes (and if you are trying to teach reading you can have them help you read the list too). Anyway, so below is a link to the file so you can download it and print it for your kids to try too! Enjoy!

Download the printable version of this sheet to print out for your little one here or create your own which is easy to do with a list of things you want your child to find and take a picture of -you can customize the list depending on child's age and/or interests.

Candy and Dancing Weekend!

I seem to be a week behind in my posts but hey, we are busy! Anyway, so LAST weekend we had a fun weekend! We went to our friend Charlie's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Birthday party! Lots of fun and candy involved!

Shayla making a candy necklace (she had just gotten to the party after being on the boat all morning with Jon)

The candy table (kids were in heaven)

Mitchell on "roller coaster"

Mitchell with Birthday Boy Charlie

Shayla requested a BLUE dragon balloon hat (of course the most complicated thing ever)

Then aunt Titi and cousin Kalea came up for the day. We went to the big Simi Valley parks party celebrating 50 years of existence. They had a country theme with free petting zoo, hay rides, pony rides, ice cream, and Garth Brook Tribute band (see previous dancing video). We had a great time with them!

Mitchell at petting zoo

Mitchell is checking out the cool Llama hairdo while Shayla was picking up baby goats

She loved the goats and this one was falling asleep on her

Fun times!

Dancing Time

Shayla, Mitchell and cousin Kalea dancing to the Garth Brooks Tribute Band! Love it!

Mitchell's ABC Book

When Shayla was younger we did a colors book for the kids with her friends, so with Mitchell and his friends we decided to do an ABC book! It was fun! We had moms either bring photo props to the park of the letters they were in charge of or take photos of their kids with the props at home and then shared the photos so we could make a photo book of all the letters! A cute way for the kids to learn the alphabet! Props to Alisa for the cute book template and all the moms who were involved! I finally got this done yesterday as I had a free coupon from Shutterfly to have this printed into hard cover 8x8 book! Great incentive to finish projects!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Happy Birthday Granddad Nelson!

Jon's paternal grandpa, Terry Nelson Jr, is having a birthday today! Another year older and wiser! As he is one of my most avid blog readers I had to wish him a Happy Birthday here (:

He is such a great guy and I am lucky to have gotten him as a granddad as I married into the family! Going strong and carrying on!

We love you Grandpa Nelson

- HAPPY BIRTHDAY -

here's to another year of health and happiness!!!

And the winner is...

Thanks for your comments and support on my blog! The winner of my 500th Post giveaway was comment #6 (random.org) which is Tessa! Tessa I will be in touch (: It seems like most people want to see more recipes and more kids activities so I will be sure to add more of that! I like my sisters idea to add a "What I'm Eating" Feature with the latest recipe or foods I am into and trying and I will probably start that since I am always trying new recipes and health products! So that was fun! Thanks again! Until the next 500...

San Diego Wedding weekend!

Last weekend our family was able to go to the wedding of Jon's cousins Kaitlin Nelson to Doug Culp in San Diego! They were sealed at the San Diego Temple, the same temple Jon and I were married in 10 years ago. It was so nice to be able to be there and also to see a lot of Jon's side of the family!

The bride and groom and wedding party!

Mitchell rolling down the massive hill outside the temple.
Mitchell and the Temple

Our family and the San Diego Temple

At the reception - a donut cake vs traditional wedding cake

A candy bar! Shayla was in heaven!

Shayla and Mitchell tearing up the dance floor!

Great pic of Jon's parents!

Jon (smiling since he does not know he is having his pic taken) with Mitchell

Dad and Shayla

more fun dancing!

Brothers (can you tell?) Jon's uncle David and dad Terry

They had a fun photo booth to take photos in for the guest book and to take home! Here are our "glamour shots"

We had a great time and are so happy for Kaitlin and Doug! It was a perfect day!!!

p.s. My 500th post giveaway ends tomorrow so don't forget to leave a comment to enter!

Meeting baby Ava...

While in San Diego last weekend, I had the chance to meet my good friend Laura and Kevin's newest adorable baby girl, Ava! Laura and Kev have been great friends since high school and I love being able to stay part of their lives as we move through life together! I love meeting new additions to the friends/family network and holding new babies! Their older daughter Anabelle and Shayla are friends too so it was nice to see them reconnect. Now when we get together (well in a year or so) Mitchell will have a playmate too!

Me and Ava


Me and Laura and Ava (sleeping in carrier)


Kevin, Me and Mitchell


Shayla and Annabelle enjoying cupcakes from Sprinkles (:

Back to (PRE) School...

Shayla loves going to school, loves spending time with her friends and loves her teachers. Although I was very hesitant about sending Shayla to pre-K as she will be in school for the next 14 years, she just really enjoys it so much it made my decision so much easier! So this week, Shayla started going to her Pre-K class! She has many friends from her class last year and many new ones! Because I think it is important as a stay at home mom to focus on teaching her all her PreK skills at home (reading, writing, etc) I see PreK as more of a fun social time with fun activities, although I know she will be learning a lot too! And yes the first day is the only day she gets to wear white as the rest of the time I know she will be getting down and dirty and crafty!

Shayla with her two new teachers - Mrs. S and Mrs. C!

500th Post Celebration Giveaway!

On July 24, 2007 I wrote my first blog post announcing the arrival of Shayla into our family and started my journey into the blogging world! Four years later, and one more kid later, I am writing my 500th blog post, WHEW! I created my blog mainly to share photos and happenings of our family with my family and friends, especially those that live far away, and that is still it's main purpose. Most of my blog posts are photos of my kids and our adventures! I also use my blog as a personal form of journaling, referring to my blog for reminders of activities past, to fill out my kids baby and photo books, and to capture stories and memories. I copy and paste all of my blog entries into a journal document and often expand on the information there.

I also have enjoyed sharing my favorite things with you, sharing recipes I have enjoyed or created, and had fun one year with a Christmas countdown sharing all about my Christmas traditions counting down each day to Christmas. I have seen a trend with bloggers offering a giveaway in honor of their anniversary or when they reach a certain # of posts, so I thought that would be fun to do! It is a fun way to celebrate writing 500 posts! Wait a second, shouldn't YOU be sending ME something instead for posting so much? Well, I will be nice and generous and in honor of my 500th post, I will be sending one lucky winner a few of my favorite and random things! To enter, please leave a comment on the post with what you would like to see more of in the future on my blog (more videos, more recipes, more calculus equations, etc...)

The lucky winner (chosen by random.org) will receive a dvd of my favorite comedy, "Rat Race", a packing list for trips (I love my lists), a mini facial and lipgloss (I love my pampering), a few packets of Justin's Maple Almond Butter and then one homemade batch of raw cookies or nuggets (something I enjoy making, are healthy, and travel well).

So good luck and here's to 500 more posts...

GIVEAWAY WILL END MONDAY NIGHT, AUGUST 22nd at 10 PM PST

(See I am official like that!)

Do you love the fair as much as I do?

Every year I really enjoy going to our local Ventura County Fair! I do not usually like to put up with crowds, and probably would not do it if it was LA fair or OC, but the Ventura County fair is just the right size and distance to work for me! And, as I have mentioned before, I use this blog as a type of journaling since I blog and then copy much of it into my journal to stay somewhat up-to-date on my journaling. So, I thought I would share a few of my favorite things to do/eat/get at the fair that I look forward to every year as well as a few new memories made this year at the fair...I am sure they are not unique traditions or thoughts, but this is what brings me back each year!

I love that a big part of the fair is about others sharing their talents with the public - whether it be through cooking, animals, crafts, or performing. I love to scope out the different performers at the fair every year. This year there were some great ones and Mitchell was enthralled with watching most of the performances we went to see (while Shayla did not want to stay still for very long). My favorite performance this year was the Powerhouse Percussive Dance - a mix of tap, Irish step and stomp. So neat! I also enjoy looking at all the fun baked goods especially the decorated cakes. I also LOVE to go to the photography building to check out all the great photos!

A main stop for me is the Commercial Buildings. There are a few booths I go to every year and would not feel that I have made a proper fair visit without these. First, I always stop at the Vitamix booth because years ago I bought my Vitamix at the fiar and it is still one of my favorite and most used purchases! They sold me the first time by making ice cream with cabbage mixed in and you could not even tell it had cabbage in it - I still use that trick today! So, I always go to see what tips and tricks they can show me so I can get more use out of my Vitamix! Then I stop at the Random Things booth - I am not sure what the right name of the booth is, but they sell all sorts of small and actually useful things. This year I got a mini magnifying glass for Shayla and our treasure/scavenger hunts. Then I stop at the Fruit and Nuts booth where they sell delicious candied nuts and dried fruits. I always stock up on my favorite condiment - Butter Toffee Sunflower Seeds (great for everything from salads, yogurt and ice cream!).

One of Gene's ToysOne of the other places I really like to stop at and that Shayla enjoys as much as me is the toy area in the Youth Arts Exhibit with the "Gene West Wonderful Working Wooden Toys." Basically, there are hundreds of handmade, one-of-a kind, wood toys all made by one guy, Gene West. They are so unique, fun and interactive and Gene is always there to watch the joy on the kids faces as they play with them. He makes the toys but never sells them but brings them to fairs and festivals and such for kids to play with! Such a neat hobby to share with others. Even Mitchell got in on the fun with these this year - too bad I did not get any photos of them playing with them!

And, of course, I love to see the animals - esp the baby animals - this year the baby goats and pigs were so cute! So next year when you visit the fair, think of some of my favorite places and if you get a chance - check them out!

Anyway, here are a few photos from this year's fair adventures!

Shayla and a horse who almost bit her hat off after this pic was taken!

Mitchell enjoying the shows!

Shayla loving the rides!

After Shayla got on her first ride, Mitchell got so upset that he was not able to be on the rides too, so after that we had to go on a few rides that both kids could go on - the spinning bears and virtual rollercoaster - they both loved them!

Until next summer...

Beach Camping!

This past week we joined my brother and his wife, and some of her family, for some fun beach camping at Refugio Beach (See above photo), just north of Santa Barbara! My sister in law has been going there every summer for the past 20 years and I thought we would join the great tradition! It is a great place to camp! The weather was beyond perfect - clear and warm all day with no fog! - and we spent the days at the beach, going on walks, kayaking, taking the kids on bike rides, watching the seals, dolphins and sea birds, playing at the playground, cooking up camp food, and enjoying games and campfire at night with the adults!! My parents came up to visit for a day and we had a guest visit from Doug & Sheelah. I was a little hesitant about tent camping with Mitchell and afraid he may not sleep very well, but he was a champ and both kids slept soundly all night (I think we wore them out sufficiently during the day). We had a great time and we are already looking forward to next year!

Me and the kids at sunset

Camper Shayla

Camper Mitchell

My brother and his family!

Shayla and Isaiah boogie boarding!

LOTS MORE FUN BEACH PHOTOS...